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 To date, several clinical and laboratory studies serve as evidence that genuine Hoodia gordonii is a safe and effective aid in appetite suppression due to its effect on the brain. These studies on Hoodia began with South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in the 1960s, in which CSIR conducted a series of studies on plants (including Hoodia) traditionally used by the indigenous peoples of South Africa.
As part of the study, animal subjects were given Hoodia gordonii to test for toxic effects. However, instead of suffering from the effects of toxicity, researchers were surprised to learn that the animals reduced food intake dramatically as a result of taking Hoodia gordonii. These results confirmed what the San people of the Kalahari had known all along, that Hoodia is effective in appetite suppression.
With these findings, CSIR developed an interest in finding the active ingredient responsible for appetite suppression in Hoodia gordonii. Eventually, they were able to isolate the molecule that was responsible, naming it P57, and patenting the extraction formula in 1997. The patent was then licensed to Phytopharm, a British pharmaceutical company, the following year.
In a bid to develop a natural appetite suppressant from Hoodia, Phytopharm conducted further trials using human subjects in 2001. A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study took place in Leicester, England, involving overweight, but otherwise healthy individuals taking large doses of Hoodia gordonii.
These test subjects were given equal diets for 15 days in an environment that only allowed sedentary activities such as television watching, sleeping, eating, and reading. Between the Hoodia and placebo group, the Hoodia group reduced approximately 1000 calories per day (out of an average of 2200 calories consumed per day). These results, being statistically significant, further established Hoodia as a safe, effective appetite suppressant. The trial was considered a success!
An additional study on Hoodia was also undertaken by Brown University 's Medical School , and published in the journal Brain Research in 2004. Supported by major Pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, the study injected rats with Hoodia gordonii to test appetite suppression. Similar to the results of the other studies, these animal subjects reduced caloric intake by thirty to fifty percent. There was also an indication that Hoodia has the ability to control appetite by altering energy metabolism through the hypothalamus, a centre of appetite control in the brain. Hoodia also induced a modest drop in the rats' blood sugar levels, with no adverse side effects reported.
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